Imperial Stout Dark Night of the Soul Russian Imperial Stout

[megalomani]

Wow, that is a mighty brew. I am also curious to hear how this has turned out for those who have attempted. I don't have a large enough beverage cooler to mash even enough grain for a 5 gallon batch but may mash what I can and bring up to gravity with DME.

Songstre, I believe you have a good conversion but probably don't need a full 6 gallons for the grain tea and boil. You may get better alpha acid extraction from the hops with the full 6 gallon but not sure about that. When I have done extract I always boil ~3 gallons then add cold water at the end. Saves some time and energy cooling down and won't need as large a pot.

Has anyone had experience with the wyeast 9093 imperial blend. This was on sale at the LHBS and picked a pack up. Interested in anyone's thoughts/opinions of using a high gravity yeast strain for this recipe.

 

[Brewpastor]

This beer takes a lot of aging and therefore a huge amount of tolerance and time. It also needs a LONG, SLOW sparge (I have not done a Batch run with this one) and a long rolling boil with good evaporation. You will need tons of yeast and good aeration. I don't even have the 9093 on my radar but it sounds really interesting and like a good choice. I will be interested to hear what others have to say on this one.

 

[MgMt_Home_Brew]

This recipe looks awesome. I am looking to do a RIS soon so I can age it for next winter. If I am doing a 5 gallon batch of this in a 10 gallon rubbermaid cooler this calculator:Green Bay Rackers--Mash Calculators says that it will take almost 9.5 gallons of space. So I think I am good but it might be a little tight.

 

[cataclysmcow]

Just a little bump to see if anyone has a batch old enough to do a review on yet.

I was going to wait till I heard reviews, but I just said the heck with it and brewed it yesterday. This was only my 6th AG batch and by far my highest grain bill. I was worrying about my MLT capacity (10gal) and didn't even consider that my BK size would be the limiting factor here. My planned one batch sparge turned into a ad hoc hybrid sparge - the sugars just kept coming. I don't know how I got such good efficiency; I almost collected a 3rd running for another beer.

I had to swap out for American 2-row and Simpson's Chocolate due to availability. I also reserved one oz of hops till 30min. I know it's not to the style, but I wanted some hop flavor.

I don't know how to describe the color, but it's the prettiest thing I've seen streaming out of my MLT so far. Two neighbors stopped by during the brew to find out what that awesome aroma was.

Has anyone had the chance to taste this yet? This one is going to take a lot of patience.

 

[eulipion2]

I brewed this in September of '08. For the longest time it was WAAAAYYY to bitter to be enjoyable. I popped it open on Big Brew (May 2) and it was delicious. It was still way bitter, but darn tasty! I did have trouble getting much carbonation into it, but it was still pretty great. Definitely age this one a little.

 

[megalomani]

Well I gave it a shot substituting for what I had available as well as supplementing with ~10 lbs of liquid extract to hit gravity with my setup. Fermented with the wyeast imperial blend out to 1.032 after three weeks. I don't think it was finished however after opening a bottle this past weekend to an explosion of foam.

The beer was >70 degrees because I just wanted to check if there was any CO2 hiss and recap for later. I have one in the refrigerator now to test how it does cold. I am fairly certain that exposure to oxygen during bottling reactivated the yeast and it fermented out a bit more.

After foaming uncontrollably for about 40 seconds I was able to pour the remaining beer into a glass and sample. It obviously needs time (only five weeks old), but already good. Was thick but not overly sweet. VERY assertive bitterness (both alpha and roast)! Puts an arrogant bastard to shame.

I was thinking of uncapping bottles over a corny keg to collect all the beer and foam. After all the foam settles I could cool the beer and adjust the carbonation, then re-bottle off the keg. Does anyone have a simpler solution to avoid any loss beer?

Update: Tried a cold beer a couple weeks latter and it is fine. Still overly carbonated but no worry of bottle bombs. After posting I read up a little on bottle carbing, excessive foaming is common if opened too early because the CO2 hasn't had enough time to dissolve in the beer. I don't plan to open any more of these until at least October.

 

[c0bra]

Ha, I just came across this.

I figure I have to try any beer named after a St. John of the Cross book

 

[InYerMouth]

Any more updates on this brew?? Would love to get one kicking?? maybe this fall and let it sit til about next fall?? to long?? just right?? any recomendations on yeast health factors for such a high gravity?? If Im gonna spit this one out I wanna make sure its worth it and havent seen to many reviews as to how it turned out??

 

[megalomani]

Its been 4 months since my last taste. Opened a 12oz bottle after chilling for a short time. I didn't have a volcanic explosion this time but the carbonation is still very high. I also had a good 1/4" of sedimentation on the bottom of the bottle that began to mix with the beer like a lava lamp once the pressure gradient was created by opening the bottle. There was lots of FOAM, too much. After lots of love and attention to control the foam during the poor I waited to allow it too settle.

The aroma was similar to a coffee house or more like a chocolate shop, sweet and bitter. After enough foam had subsided I placed the glass to my lips and engulfed the delicious aroma as I tilted the glass for a taste.

Rich and sweet up front, it was thick and dark but not sickenly sweet or syrupy. The sugar doesn't stay on your tongue either because the roasted malt balances with coffee like bitterness and the alpha oils come through to leave a dry, clean, pronounced finish.

I am very proud of this beer despite the problems with carbonation and sedimentation. The flavor is better than any i have sampled in this style (admittedly haven't had too many, but better than Bell's Expedition Stout).

For those who may also be trying their first high gravity ale, might i offer a few more suggestions in addition to Brewpastors advise:

1. The high gravity yeast (wyeast 9093 imperial blend) worked very well for me. I still made a big starter but had no problems with under carbonation or having the yeast crap out (on the contrary had over carbonation).

2. Allow plenty of time for fermentation, i probably bottled too early and added too much priming sugar. Take a hydrometer reading instead of watching for bubbles. If it seems high still, wait another week and see if it has changed before deciding if it is finished.

3. Secondary fermentation! I never use secondary because for my normal gravity beer have never noticed a big enough difference compared to leaving in primary an extra week or two. In the future I will ALWAYS rack to secondary anything this big! The 1/4" of sediment on the bottom of all my bottles is enough for me to know better now.

Thanks for the recipe BrewPastor, this one will be on the annual rotation now. I even have a big mash cooler now so I won't need to supplement with extract.

 

[smokinghole]

I made an attempt to brew this. We will see how my yeast takes off. I took a small sample of the wort as it is right now because I found out today my hydrometer was broken. I made a big starter about 4 days before hand and aerated the crap out of it with a 5" aquarium stone. I am running a blow off tube right now and hope things take off.

So I don't know what my gravity is, but I did throw in 13lbs lite dme, and the other specialty grains listed on the partial mash on page three. If my gravity isn't quite up to snuff I will pick up some corn sugar or maybe just get a little more dme to bring it up.

As I come out of the winter months I will give this a try again all grain in my garage after I build up a mash tun for myself. Ooh and a larger boil pot.

 

[Bayes2112]

I just brewed a 5 gallon batch of this today. This was my first endeavor into high gravity brewing.

Filled my 10 gallon MLT to the brim with the mash. I ended up mashing at 150. I double batch sparged and had about 8 gallons to boil. I boiled for an extra hour for evaporation, but it wasn't enough. I was shooting for 5 gallons of 1.128 OG wort and ended up with 5.75 gallons at 1.108. So, my efficiency (72.5%) was pretty close to my target (75%) according to BeerSmith, but I needed to boil for longer.

I'm using WLP99 Super High Gravity yeast, but I guess that'll be overkill now that my gravity will only get me to around 11.25% alcohol if I'm lucky.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share. Today's lesson: Get some volume markings on the brew kettle. I'll let everyone know how it turns out in around a year or so.

 

[smokinghole]

After getting a new hydrometer today I measured my gravity from a left out sample to be 1.122ish (I know it was 1.12 something). I'm thinking about dumping an additional pound of DME in a couple days after the fermentation has had a chance to go at it a while. I think my huge half gallon starter helped a bunch as well as seriously aerating the wort. I set up for blowoff but didn't need it. I will switch to a regular air lock when I add the additional wort in a couple days.

Ooh and by the way broken hydrometer on sunday, and I broke the new one after making a measurement of my graff FG soon after the stout. ******* I'm so pissed at these frangible glass tubes I ordered a refractometer with ATC. I'm still going to get a damn hydrometer but I hate them!

Also as I was walking around the brew store picking up my new (now broken) hydrometer, I spyed toasted oak chips. I thought as an additional twist on the recipe I'd throw some of these in for a few days before bottling. Yay or Nay on the oak chips (medium roast).

 

[smokinghole]

I retract my statement about not needing the blow off. My jug the tube is dipped in now looks like an amber beer. I think I'll swap it to a regular vapor lock tonight so it can breath easier. Everything is going smoothly for my first super high gravity brew. Thanks for the recipe!

 

[Brewpastor]

Keep us posted, but I do expect it will be a while before this batch is at its prime. I really hope you like it!

 

[smokinghole]

I'll taste some on my birthday in Sept then again try some during christmas 2010. I might make a second batch real soon and throw oak chips in the secondary to compare the two.

 

[Apendecto]

I'm going to make this bad boy as well.

But which is better:

1.) Aging in the bottle for a long time
2.) Aging in the secondary fermenter for a long time

Thanks.

 

[claphamsa]

both 1234567

 

[wedge421]

My God this is one sexy recipe. Must BREW!! Ill have to 5 gallon it though.

 

[wedge421]

Also remember Old Rasputin RIS goes from grain to bottle in 2 weeks. So this one would be a great beer to bottle and try at various increments.

 

[smokinghole]

Has anyone that made this have to repitch at the end? I didn't keep my temps up high enough and I'm not sure my yeast will take it down enough. I used WLP001 which has a high alcohol tolerance but I'm just below the ideal temps. I checked the other day been fermenting for two weeks and I'm at 1.045 does that sound about right? I have a vial of 001 in the fridge and easy access to more(needed for two other recipessoon).

 

[Bayes2112]

I'm in the same boat right now. Fermentation stuck at around 1.042. I warmed the carboy up to around 74 degrees and shook it up a bit, but that didn't help.

I repitched with a couple packets of wine yeast three days ago because that's just what I had on hand, but that doesn't seem to be doing anything either.

I'm not sure where to go from here. I clearly can't bottle with the gravity this high, but I don't know how to get it down. My last resort may be to brew another batch of beer with some high gravity yeast just so I can pitch this onto the cake.

 

[smokinghole]

I just picked up another vial of wlp001 in case. However for now I just threw some yeast nutrient in the fermenter and shook it up a bit. Hopefully that does the trick I'll see when I get home from work tonight.

I'll repost in here later tonight if I see some more air lock activity due to the yeast nutrient.

 

[smokinghole]

Okay I just went up and checked. More air lock activity is present after addition of yeast nutrient. I'll reserve the vial of wlp001 for some other time.

 

[claphamsa]

I'm in the same boat right now. Fermentation stuck at around 1.042. I warmed the carboy up to around 74 degrees and shook it up a bit, but that didn't help.

I repitched with a couple packets of wine yeast three days ago because that's just what I had on hand, but that doesn't seem to be doing anything either.

I'm not sure where to go from here. I clearly can't bottle with the gravity this high, but I don't know how to get it down. My last resort may be to brew another batch of beer with some high gravity yeast just so I can pitch this onto the cake.

try beno too...... but ive had this happen too

 

[mb2696]

where are you guys getting the roasted rye? or are you roasting it yourselves?

 

[smokinghole]

I roasted my own. http://oz.craftbrewer.org/Library/Methods/Sanders/roasting.shtml I sort of loosely followed some of their guidance. Try just a small palm full first though before attempting the whole batch.

 

[mb2696]

I roasted my own. http://oz.craftbrewer.org/Library/Methods/Sanders/roasting.shtml I sort of loosely followed some of their guidance. Try just a small palm full first though before attempting the whole batch.

cool thanks

 

[Apendecto]

where are you guys getting the roasted rye? or are you roasting it yourselves?

Roasted Rye

I'm pretty sure this is the same thing...but the home roasting idea is really cool.

 

[smokinghole]

Damn I should have roasted mine more than I did. Oh well. The beer is dark any way but I might have lost some flavor by not roasting it enough.

 

[mb2696]

Roasted Rye
I'm pretty sure this is the same thing...but the home roasting idea is really cool.

I did see the chocolate rye but wasn't sure if it was the same thing since it's 200-300L and brewpastors lists his as 95L